


Sanctuary

by NightFall68



Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dead May Parker (Spider-Man), Gen, Grieving Peter Parker, Minor Character Death, Orphaned Peter Parker, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Running Away, Sad Peter Parker, Slow Build, Teen Peter Parker, Younger Tony Stark, characters may be oc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:54:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28492704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightFall68/pseuds/NightFall68
Summary: While staying in for the night, Peter received a phone call from a local hospital informing him that his aunt had been in an accident and that he needed to come right away. When he arrived at the hospital, Peter is greeted with bad news. His aunt is in critical condition, her injuries too extensive and severe, and finally, she’s dying. Knowing that he’s officially on his own, with the state moments away from knocking on his door to put him into the system, Peter decide the best option for him is to run away as far as he could possibly go from New York. After his disappearance, Tony realized that Peter had left New York and that Aunt May had died. In fear for the boy’s state of mind and all the dangers Peter could face alone in the world, Tony decided to go searching for the boy and once found, to bring him home. But with terrible tragedies in both their pasts, can the two help each other finally be happy? Will they allow their walls to drop and help the other heal from never-forgotten scars, or will they resist and suffer in pain alone? Can Peter and Tony finally get the family they’ve always wanted but never fully got? Take place a month after Spider-Man: Homecoming. Rating may go up later on in the story.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 14
Kudos: 49





	1. Leaving Home

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [May the Road](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18671560) by [Ranunculaceae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ranunculaceae/pseuds/Ranunculaceae). 



> I came up with this story when I was laid-off from my job just before the pandemic hit the States. I needed something to do to keep my mind off of being depressed and all the rejected jobs offers I received, and thus, this story was born. It took a year to write, which was difficult for me since I'm known to write then post the chapter once I'm finished with it, but I finally did it. Unfortunately, not all the story is pre-written. I plan on updating regularly, but if I get to a minimal number of stored chapters, I will have to paused the story until I have gotten the desire amount to resume posting. 
> 
> The story will follow canon in the movies mostly, but there will be times where I will be adding or subtracting things not typically seen in the original stories. For instance, Tony was born a decade later than his canon self, making him 36 at the start of this tale. Everything in Avengers: Civil War sadly took place, which I intend to explore and go further into later on in the story. Not betaed, but I have edited it to the best of my ability. I hope you enjoy my story.
> 
> Rating for the story may go up in the future. 
> 
> Updates will be posted on a monthly basis.

**Chapter One**

**Leaving Home**

**The Parkers’ Apartment Queens, New York**

**Wednesday, October 26, 2016 2:00 A.M**

How did this happen? Well, he knew how it happened, so the better question was why? That answer in it self is something he would be very interested to know. Why did that guy decide to make the biggest mistake of his life and get inside that car?

If anyone had the right to know that answer, it would be him. After all, it was his life that was turned upside down. His world shaken to it very core. Something so bright, beautiful, and good in his life _gone_ in a matter of minutes.

 _How did this become my life?_ He thought bitterly as he shifted to his feet. _A fifteen-years-old teenage boy who had experienced more tragedy in his life than the average New Yorker would in their lifetime. I mean, why me? What did I do to deserve this punishment? Did I somehow offend one of the gods without realizing?_

Honestly, he didn’t know. It didn’t really matter anyway. After all, it wouldn’t change anything; there was no cure or solution to reawaken the dead last he knew. But wouldn’t it be great if there was? Then maybe he wouldn’t be in this mess? Maybe then he wouldn’t be in his bedroom rushing to pack his bags and preparing to run away.

Never in a million years did the teen ever imagined doing something like this. Being forced to run away, to leave the only place he had known, the only place he had felt safe and loved for the past ten years. Unfortunately, he had to unless he wanted to wind up in an orphanage or foster home until he turned eighteen, which was three years from now. How could he be a hero, be Spider-Man to the citizens of Queens, New York if he was living with total strangers? He didn’t even know where he might be placed, it could be local or far away, likely either way to force him to uproot from not only his home, but his friends and school too. Nevertheless, should he go into the system, all he could see is a list of cons and a miserable three long years of his life.

He didn’t want that life, especially for him. He much rather live alone on the streets for the next few years then go into the system. Some would say that he was being overdramatic, that living in the foster home wasn’t that bad. Other would say that he wasn’t thinking clearly; that he hadn’t thought his plan out enough to work. And although they were right, at least on the latter part, he knew he could do it.

 _I still can’t believe this is happening to me. This doesn’t feel real._ He knew that he was probably in shock, that his mind hadn’t had the chance to process the information that he, Peter Benjamin Parker, was thrice again an orphan and that his last remaining relative had died several hours ago in a hospital bed. He knew the signs and symptoms of shock, had done some research for a school assignment as well as for Spider-Man, and knew that it hadn’t hit him fully yet. But he also knew that once he had settled down somewhere, hopefully as far away from here as possible, it would eventually hit him, most likely hard.

Peter wasn’t entirely looking forward to dealing with that in the near future. However, much like his emotions, he rather handle it somewhere else than here at home. Because should he let go, allow everything inside of him to break free, the teenager knew that he would break down on his bedroom floor and not get up for a very long time. He couldn’t allow that to happen, not with the law on his tail. So he suppressed everything inside of him, feeling nothing but calm numbness as he finished packing up his stuff.

Standing beside his bed, with his bags and cellphone next to him, the teen paused for a minute to gradually take in the view of the room. To someone unfamiliar with the space, the bedroom was still the same, with his furniture and posters still in placed where he’d first put them several years ago. But to someone familiar, they would notice that some things were missing, mostly small items, and that the atmosphere in the room was off. Only those who had visited the space often would quickly see that nearly half of his wardrobe was missing or that Peter had cleaned his room, which normally was quite messy, and had placed his Lego sets, experiments, and various other objects in neat piles. Anything that was valuable to him that he could easily transport was put in his backpack to remain close to him.

As the teen’s eyes landed on each item in the bedroom, memories from the past, both good and bad, came to his mind, bringing a small, sad smile to his face. Man, he was going to miss this. He was going to miss this place so much. Growing up, Peter had never taken the time to wondered if he would miss his room or home when it was time to go off to college, but now…now he knew he would. Very much so.

Looking around, Peter observed all the Star Wars and science posters he’d pin to the walls over the years, the urge to run his hand lovely over the glossy papers very strong, but he resisted. Barely. Though, the teenager was forced to clench his teeth, fighting against the overwhelming emotion that was rising inside him. Its overpowering force causing the muscles in his stomach to tighten, his hands to shake like he was on drugs, and a lump about a size of a frog making its way upwards through his throat.

A voice in the back of his mind told the teenager that he should start going, that this was becoming more dangerous each second he lingered, that he shouldn’t be here, but Peter found himself unable to resist walking around the room, looking at every familiar nook and cranny that he could find, leaving no inch untouched or unseen. 

Suddenly, thunder cracked above him and lightning forked through the night sky, briefly lighting up the room and casting Peter’s shadow against the wall. The teenager blinked before letting his hand drop and taking a step back from his bedroom wall, a science certificate framed beautifully in a dark wood hung only inches away from his fingers.

It was time to leave.

But before that could happen, Peter still had two remaining tasks to complete before he could leave this place for good. One was quite easy and fast to accomplish, the other…not so much. The teen was, of course, speaking about the two remaining items laying out on his bed. His Spider-Man suit and cellphone.

As his gaze landed on them, a look of fondness mixed with sadness could be seen clearly in the teen’s eyes. Although he wanted to take his phone and suit with him, he just couldn’t do it. The tech was just too easy to track Peter’s whereabouts and he didn’t want that. He didn’t want to be found. Not by the law and especially not by Mr. Stark.

Shaking his head, the teenager discarded a thought that suddenly popped into his mind. He would focus on that later. Right now, Peter just wanted to stay in reality (despite how much pain he was in) and say his final goodbye to the items he was leaving behind. A part of him felt like he was dying, even though he knew for a fact that wasn’t true as he held his spider mask in both hands.

Peter would always be Spider-Man, suit or no suit. He knew that. Nothing could take that away from him. However, the teenager felt like part of his soul was breaking apart, separating before turning to dust as he stare into the white eyes on the mask. To him, leaving the suit behind felt like committing a crime. The whole thing was so wrong that it should be categorized as illegal. Personal-wise, though, Peter didn’t feel like himself, didn’t feel whole inside without it. He felt cold. Lonely. Broken.

Blinking, Peter realized that silent tears were falling down his cheeks, beginning sometime during the five minutes he’d been lost in his thoughts. Failed. He had failed once again. Instead of trying to hold it together, he fell apart, unable to suppress his chaotic emotions for just a few minutes longer. Wiping the salty moisture swiftly away with his hand, the teenager returned his attention to the mask. His thoughts suddenly vanishing as a creeping sorrow wrapped itself tightly around his heart.

Running his fingers lightly over the fabric, Peter silently said his goodbye. With a quick kiss to the mask and eyes traveling over the uniform, taking in every square inch and implanting the image in his mind in hope of memorizing it forever, he quickly but caringly folded up the suit and hid it in a place where no one would be able to find it. Then the teen return to his bed, this time for the phone.

Pressing his lips together, Peter stared for a moment at the time on the screen after waking the device up. The numbers failed to register in his mind, although he did notice the cracks that appeared like spider webs on the screen. Clumsy hands and too many falls during patrols when the teen first became Spider-Man caused the phone to look like it had been thrown around several times due to its beat-up appearance. Only two-years-old, yet it looked like he had used it for ten. It truly was a miracle that it still had the ability to work.

But enough about that. Peter had one final task to complete and then he could leave for good. He still had to send a message to Mr. Stark. A part of him didn’t want to since he knew it would give the man a head-ups on what he was planning on doing and possibly track him down faster. That is, if he even care that the teenager was missing. But the other part of him wanted to reach out, silently asking for help when he knew he couldn’t say the words out loud.

So the teen wrote a very long text message, one that he sincerely hoped expressed all of his feelings, and thus, could be found in between the type lines.

* * *

_Mr. Stark,_

_By the time you received this message, it will be too late. I will be long gone, hopefully as far away from Queens as I can possibly get. Of course, you’re welcome to check the apartment and my former school, but it will just be a waste of your time. No, this isn’t a joke. No immature prank to bring attention to myself. This is real._

_I’m leaving and I honestly don’t know when I will be back, if I ever do come back. I know I’m running away from home, though I prefer to call it leaving instead. However, that’s not important. Mr. Stark, Aunt May is dead. She died coming home from a car accident caused by a drunk driver. I’m an orphan, I…I have no family left to take me in. I know that I will be placed in an orphanage or even a foster home and I don’t want that, especially after the stories I have heard about them. So I’m leaving._

_I just wanted to thank you, Mr. Stark, for everything you have done for me. It truly meant the world to know that you saw something inside of me instead of a poor boy from Queens. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagined this, getting the opportunity to work alongside Iron Man in a fight. Of course, I had always imagined working beside you as Tony Stark, but Iron Man works too._

_Umm, I’m rambling here so I’m going to just end the message by asking you for one favor. Take care of Aunt May, please. Make sure she has a nice funeral and bury her by Uncle Ben. She deserved so much more than what I can possibly give her. She deserved to have a better nephew than me, one who isn’t scared and running away like a little child. She deserves better._

_Thank you, Mr. Stark,_

_Peter Parker_

_P.s. Oh, I almost forgot. You can take the Spider-Man suit back. Where I’m going, I won’t need it._

* * *

Five minutes later, he hit send; not allowing himself to read it over to see if it had made sense. Truthfully, Peter didn’t think he could handle doing something like that, especially since the waterworks had started again while he was busy composing the message.

Instead, the teen closed his phone and placed it on his desk. Then he grabbed his old, torn-up but still warm coat and shoved his arms inside the sleeves, zipping it up to his chin. After that was accomplished, Peter grabbed his two bags, a duffle and backpack, and slung the straps over his shoulders and chest before heading toward the window. Grabbing the windowpane, he hesitated for a long moment before lifting it up in one quick push.

The fresh air felt like a new breath in Peter’s lungs, and he inhaled it like a man that had been starving for oxygen. He closed his eyes, feeling the cold, winter’s night breeze against his skin, and a few moments later, he finally lifted his leg then the other and stepped onto the windowsill.

He sat crouched there for a moment, one hand holding the windowpane above him and the other holding the strap of his duffle bag against his chest. The teenager looked back at the dark room – his old room, in his old apartment – with a sad smile on his face before climbing out onto the other side of the wall. After he was finally out, now standing safely on the fire escape, he slowly lowered the windowpane until it was completely close.

Looking back out into the clear night-sky, Peter stared at the full moon that shone brightly above him, dousing the buildings and streets around him with moonlight. With a pained smile, he jumped off the metal platform and disappeared into the night.

* * *

**Tokyo, Japan**

**(+13 Hours Ahead of Queens, New York) 3:00 P.M.**

The long text message that Peter sent to Tony Stark did managed to reach the man’s phone. Which would later come as a surprise to the teen since he knew from past interviews with the genius that Mr. Stark is known to blocked unknown numbers from his phone. It didn’t matter if it was a simple phone call, text message, or email; it would be promptly blocked and ignored. Furthermore, since Peter had begun working with the billionaire only recently, they weren’t quite at the stage of their newly formed relationship to exchange each other’s numbers. If he had a problem or couldn’t make it to one of their weekly meetings, Peter was asked to call or send a message to Happy Hogan, the man’s Head of Security, which he would then relay to Mr. Stark.

Although, the teenager knew he could simply pass the message to Happy, he choose not to for a number of reasons. One important reason being that the grumpy man would either quickly come after him or alert his boss to Peter’s message, thus causing the billionaire to track him down before he ever left the city. So instead, he’d hacked into his hero’s phone and quickly retrieved the number he wanted before erasing everything he did so to not leave a trail behind that would lead the older man to him.

Anyway, the message was sent to Mr. Stark’s phone and like all the others in the past, was about to be blocked and ignored by the man. However, the billionaire was out of the country, attending a boring yet important business meeting for his company and simply couldn’t stop for a moment to reach for his phone. Instead, he left the message and his phone alone, promising himself to look at whatever was sent to him the first free moment he had to himself before focusing on the elder gentleman beside the presentation.

Unfortunately, that free moment he would get wouldn’t be for another twenty-four hours, which would eventually make it harder to track Peter down. Significant harder even hours later when the billionaire would finally realize that he couldn’t easily track the teen’s phone or computer using the technology he had at his disposal.

Until then, however, Peter was free to wander around on the streets without fear of being tracked and Mr. Stark was oblivious to the teen’s disappearance and the dangers he would mostly likely face in the near future.


	2. On the Run

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bring you another chapter. I don't have much to say this time other than the characters in the story might start to become out of character as the story goes on. I will try my best to not allow that to happen, but I'm no expert when it comes to writing these characters. I'm still fairly new at it, in fact. 
> 
> Also, the ending of this chapter might become a tad boring since I wanted to try something new that I read in the Walk series by Richard Paul Evans, my favorite author since I was a teenager. If you don't like it, I apologize. However, it's going to be like this for the next few chapters, but I promise that after we get through the next few chapters, you won't ever see that again in this story. Though, I should mention that I tried my best to not make it so boring and mind-numbing dry like some books I read in school. 
> 
> Oh, did you know that Peter's apartment address is real? There is no apartment building, but there is a house. Also, I'm not from and never been to Queens, so if there are any mistakes then please blame Google map for the errors. 
> 
> Not betaed, but I have read/edited it about three times. I apologize if there are any mistakes. 
> 
> Rating for the story may go up in the future.
> 
> Updates will be posted on a monthly basis.

**Chapter Two**

**On the Run**

**The Streets, Queen**

**Wednesday, October 26, 2016 2:06 A.M.**

Peter walked aimlessly down the block, lost in his thoughts. His feet leading the way while his eyes were vacantly gazing ahead, his mind several feet away back at the apartment. While the teenager was still in shock and quite numb, the walls holding back his emotions were gradually beginning to crack. The fissures growing large enough to allow the emotions to slip through and transform into physical signs, the evidence of his emotional distress apparent as it slowly rolled down his cheeks.

By the time the teenager had reached the corner of his block, he was back in reality. However, he still remained to be in shock. Of course, at that point, no attachment to or any lingering feelings involving his home survived. Which was fortunate for him because Peter needed to decide on where to go next. Should he just roam around until something caught his eye? Perhaps, leave it up to fate to make the decision for him? Or did the teen want to make those choices on his own?

Peter had mentioned earlier that he wanted to get as far away as possible from the apartment. How far, though? Far enough where the teen wasn’t living in Queens anymore? Or should he just leave the state of New York for good? If so, where and how far could he go?

Before he’d left the apartment, the teen was able to grab whatever amount of money Aunt May had deposited in their emergency fund that they kept on top of their fridge. After a quick count, he came up with $294; money that May no longer needed but which he could utilize on anything he needed to survive while traveling. With the amount of money Peter had, he knew he couldn’t go too far. The sudden fantasy of him heading to the other side of the country was without a doubt out of the question.

Furthermore, Peter didn’t know how much food and transportation would cost him along the journey. He remember hearing somewhere that the further one went, the more it would cost them to get there. Of course, that wasn’t totally accurate since depending on the size of the area, if it was a town or city, or even the popularity of the place; those things along with other details could be factor in to help tourists decide on their spending budget. So the teen’s plan was to go far but not too far as dictated by his limited funds.

Peter knew that eventually he would have to find some kind of work because no matter how frugal he was with his money; it would run out in the end. But who would be willing enough to hire a fifteen-years-old boy? He knew it would be difficult at his age to find a job suitable for him. Plus, he wouldn’t have much of a paycheck since whoever was willing to hire him would have to complied with the child labor laws. Which means that it would take him twice as long to save up enough money for a place of his own.

But Peter was getting ahead of himself. First, he had to decide on where to go next since he couldn’t spend the whole night hanging out at the corner of his block. So where to go?

A lit sign from across the street manage to catch the teenager’s eye then. Of course, the bodega! How could he forget that place? Maybe the store will have a traveling map that Peter could purchase. At least then, it would help him on where he wanted to go next. He recalled seeing them in the past but wasn’t sure if they show how many miles it took to get there. Oh well, as long as the teen had a map to help him, he would be fine.

So quickly as he could, the teen raced across the street (after making sure there were no cars coming; safety first, folks) and stop in front of the entrance of the store. Slowly, he entered the place, his eyes immediately looking for anything that looked remotely like a map. Thankfully, it didn’t take Peter very long to locate what he wanted since they were placed towards the front near the check-out counter. So ignoring whoever was working the store, he made his way over to the maps.

Despite the past decade where Atlas books went out of style and digital maps on phones became popular, the bodega had a pretty surprising selection when it came to paper maps. There was one that showed only the state of New York. Another was the United States, which each state having its own page. The third Atlas book contained maps of the entire world and mention quite a few places where one could go to get a bite to eat or even sleep.

Luckily, the Atlas book the teen was wanting was placed at a low price; between the range of ten to fifteen dollars. Lowest compare to the other two books in fact. So grabbing the map of the United States off the shelf, Peter headed for the counter.

The man manning the store, stared at the Atlas then at him. He impassively nodded and began checking the item out. Peter stared at his skull’s tattoos on his arms as he listened with disinterest to the ping of the barcode scanner.

“Is that all for you today, sir?” The clerk asked in a bored voice.

Peter nodded his head, biting his lip uncertainty. “I believe so.”

“Okay, then it’s $13.25,” he said in a monotone voice, staring at the teenager expectantly. He nodded as he fished out his wallet from his pants pocket and clumsily opened it, turning the wallet away from the cashier’s view so the man wouldn’t know how much money he was carrying. Quickly, Peter pulled out three 5 dollars bills and handed the money to the man, who accepted it without a word. A moment later, the clerk handed him the change and said, “Here you go, sir. Have a nice night.”

Putting the change in his wallet, Peter gave a small smile toward the cashier as he placed his billfold back into his pocket. When he was given his purchase, he grabbed it, nodded at the man and turned to leave. But then, an idea popped into the teen’s head when he noticed a dining area placed in the corner of the store.

The teen bought a map. An old fashion map that was hardly used today when one could simply find directions in a matter of minutes. A map instead of an electronic device to figure out where the teenager wanted to travel. He knew, of course, that he needed to decide on where to go next but wouldn’t be able to read the map in the darkness. So risking the fact of possibly provoking the clerk’s unwanted curiosity, Peter decided to sit down for five minutes to make his traveling decisions.

Walking to the nearest table, Peter sat down his bags on the bench. However, before he took a seat himself, he risked taking a peek at the man at the counter. Thankfully, the cashier didn’t seem interested in Peter or what he was doing. In fact, he seemed far more interested in his phone than wondering why a teenager was out past two o’ clock in the morning, carrying two bags and wanting to purchase an Atlas book. While Peter was grateful that he wasn’t drawing unnecessary attention to himself, he knew that if it was anybody else, he would have gained their interest and soon, their curiosity, long before making his purchase. They might feel the urge to approach him, to ask him questions. Questions that the teen didn’t want nor could answer. Eventually, the situation would have either led him to run away while they called the cops, or him leaving before making his purchase and trying to find another convenience store.

Of course, that event hadn’t happened yet, so it was pointless for Peter to be dwelling on the what ifs. Instead, he should be using the time he’d been wasting on actually figuring out where he was going to next. So with a quiet sigh, the teenager sat down on the bench and opened the Atlas in front of him.

After flipping through a few unimportant pages, Peter came across a few pages dedicated to distances. They were mainly between certain towns and cities or even between the two. Surprisingly, Queens was on the list, which the teenager was amazed to see since it was a borough, not an actual town or city. A borough that was located in New York City and therefore, should have been listed on the page instead of Queens. It was fortunate for Peter, however, because it made it easier for him to decide on how far he wanted to go from Queens.

Like, if Peter only wanted to go as far as fifty miles; _Seaside Heights, New Jersey_ would be in the range at fifty-six miles. Or he could go to either _Phoenixville, Pennsylvania_ or _Atlantic City, New Jersey;_ both places measured at a hundred miles should he wish to go farther. Personally, the teen wanted to go far but not too far. At least, not yet anyway. Of course, the teenager had to keep in mind that the further he went, the more it would cost him to get there. He didn’t know how much exactly, but if he wanted to go to, say, _Chicago, Illinois;_ a city that was seven hundred-and-twenty-four miles away, it would probably cost him near a fortune to even get there. Not including how much it would probably cost him on food, living arrangements and transportation; and that depended on how long Peter was wanting to stay there in the first place.

No, going any further than two hundred miles was too far. Plus, the teen didn’t have that much money to begin with and while he was planning on getting a job in the future, he didn’t want to start looking for one on the first or second day there simply because he was running out of money. Therefore, he should go somewhere out-of-state yet also stick close to New York.

However, that didn’t mean that Peter wanted to stay right next to the state. So places like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont were all out. Yet where could he go? As the teenager’s mind whirled with suggestions, his index finger slowly slid down the list of possible locations that he could visit. Should he go east and visit either New Hampshire or Rhode Island? Or did the teen want to go down south to Delaware and Maryland?

Of course, there were several pros and cons that came with each state, some points outweighing more than others when it came to deciding on where Peter should go. One good point about heading south would be that he wouldn’t get cold, at least not easily, whereas going further north would be a different story.

Due to him getting the bite in December and reading up on some research on spiders, the teen knew that arachnids couldn’t thermoregulate in extreme weather temperatures, unlike humans who had the ability to do so. Also, the lack of ability to regulate his temperature would still be a potential problem should he go beyond either Delaware or Maryland, though thankfully the danger to his health would be minor in comparison.

Nevertheless, Peter always wanted to go visit up north and see all the tourist sites and other places he had heard throughout the years while growing up. Admittedly, his wish was trivial and halfhearted despite the fact that he had a curious interest regarding the location. Still, was it truly worth risking his mutate health to head north just because the teen had a mild attraction to some of the places he had overheard his peers mention to their friends? No, better for him to go south and experience warmer weather than be an irresponsible person who didn’t care about his health.

So that took out New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Not to mention other northern states and Canada from the list. What about going west? Did the teenager want to leave Queens and go west, maybe start a new life there? He couldn’t really think of any cons regarding heading in that direction, although he was sure there were probably some if he thought long and hard. Yet, like New Hampshire, Peter crossed heading west off his mental list since he didn’t really like the idea of having to cross water to get to another state. Plus, after glancing at the United States map on the next page, he would have to go through Canada from his location, which was something he rather not do.

Therefore, heading south was the only direction left that Peter could possibly go. Additionally, with the requirements he had set, the only states available that met his conditions was Maryland and Delaware. And unfortunately, due to his limited distance, even Maryland was out since the first city the teenager found was a hundred and seventy-nine miles away. Not exactly violating the restrictions he mentally created in his head since the distance to _Baltimore_ fell below the two hundred range; however, the idea of traveling to a popular and known city like _Baltimore_ or _Annapolis_ created an uncomfortable feeling to form in his stomach.

So it was decided, Peter was going to Delaware. Yet, he didn’t know where to go in the state because one, he had never been there in his young life and two, there were three cities that met most of his requirements on the list. However, since the book didn’t contain any pictures of the three possible locations, the teen didn’t know what the cities looked like and thus, couldn’t make a decision based on appearances alone. Not that looks really matter to him, especially now, although it would help some in the decision process. No, what was important was to find somewhere safe to stay while the teenager thought up his next move.

Peter’s tired eyes turned from the pages and looked around, searching the room for a clock. He knew he hadn’t been sitting there long, but he was beginning to get restless staying still in one place for more than a minute. The teenager was afraid that the longer he was stationary, the more likely he would be caught and taken to a foster home. A possibility that could certainly happen, yet he rather not rush on planning because that is how people made mistakes. Besides, if the teen was to get caught, and he sincerely hope that never happened, but if it did, he rather that it occurred weeks or months later then on the same night he left home.

Thankfully, it didn’t take Peter long to locate the timepiece, which hung on the wall above the registers. Apparently, he had only been in the store for three or four minutes, even though it felt twice as long to him. But if the clock was right then the teen was making good time since he had only intended to stay here for five minutes, and only if it was safe.

Meanwhile, now that determining the time was settled, Peter returned his attention back to the pages before him. After all, he still needed to figure out where he was heading next on this trip of his. So closing his eyes, the spiderling placed his index finger near the top of the list of locations and then slowly slid the digit down the page. He decided that whatever location he landed on or one nearest to his finger was going to be the place he would travel to.

So down Peter’s finger went, beginning at a borough that was only a hundred miles away from Queens and where hopefully one of the three possible choices he would eventually pick. As this was occurring, he made a promise to himself that he wouldn’t peek, keeping his eyes close the whole time. However, a few seconds later, the teenager’s finger slowly slid to a stop at what felt like the middle of the page. Opening his eyes, he lowered his gaze at where his finger had landed.

_Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. 155 miles away._

Okay, the verdict was out. Peter was heading to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Admittedly, Peter didn’t know where he would go once he got there, but he would hopefully think of something during the journey. He was smart, it shouldn’t be too hard to find a place to stay. Plus, in a worst-case scenario, the spiderling could always sleep on the streets if he had too. He didn’t want to, but he would if it was absolutely necessary. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that though.

Now that Peter had finally settled on a location, a city no less, it was almost time for him to leave the bodega. But first, he had to find a suitable transportation that would be willing to take him out of Queens. Hopefully, at a cheap price too. Of course, since the teenager had been living in Queens for most of his life, he knew where the bus station was located. He also knew that the price would probably be the cheapest one could possibly get by using public transportation. Not to mention, the teen would be able to travel on his own without drawing unwanted attention to himself since the minimum age limit was thirteen years old.

Peter wasn’t too sure about taking a plane, though. For one thing, he didn’t know if the flight would take him directly to Rehoboth Beach or take him to a place out of his way, where he would have to spend more money in order to get to his final destination. Also, the teen was uncertain if the route would involve a stop and an extended layover. Something that he very much wanted to avoid if he could.

However, what Peter did know was that the price for the trip would be high, probably the highest out of all public transportation. At least a minimum of a hundred dollars would have to be spend, money that he didn’t really feel comfortable spending on travel alone. In addition, the teenager would have to be at least eighteen years-old in order to travel on his own, which unfortunately he wasn’t for another three years. Besides, he didn’t really want to fly since his parents died in a plane crash when he was almost six. So flying was out.

Similarly, the same could be said about driving. Although Peter had May’s car, it would be against the law to drive since he was underage and didn’t have a driver’s license. Yes, he had driven on his own in the past, but only because the situation was dire and he had to get to the Vulture quickly. Even then, that didn’t turn out too pretty since the spiderling had managed to wreck Flash’s father’s car while doing so. Granted, traveling by car would be the easiest and probably the cheapest way to go, nevertheless, he didn’t want to risk being pulled over by the police.

Furthermore, riding a bike and walking were out as well. Not only would the journey be twice as long, but Peter would be exhausted by the time he reached the city. Also, he didn’t own a bike and didn’t really want to spend time or money acquiring one.

So it looks like Peter was taking a bus and possibly the subway to get to Rehoboth Beach. As for getting to the bus station, despite how long it would take, his only option was to walk. There was no other public transportation that the teen knew of that could get him to the station, at least legally anyway. And he certainly wasn’t about to draw unnecessary attention to himself by taking his Aunt’s car to the bus station either.

With that said, Peter slowly close the Atlas and carefully placed it in his bookbag, not wanting the map to get bent or ruin. Then making sure he had all of his things with him, he wearily slid off the bench and stood up. Checking the clock once more, the teenager noticed that it had been five minutes since he came inside, which made him mildly pleased because he felt like he had been there way too long. After grabbing his bags, he slung them over his shoulders and neck before making his way to the front of the store. As the spiderling got closer to the door, he saw the man from earlier was still distracted by his phone, and apparently lost in his own little world since he didn’t notice the teen was leaving the store.

As Peter step outside, a cold breeze suddenly hit him, causing him to shiver. While the present temperature was on the low side of the scale, the weather wasn’t bitter cold to any one insane enough to be out at this hour. Actually, he should rephrase that last part. It wasn’t bitter cold to any one insane or _human_ that happened to be out, yet it was freezing to the teen.

In fact, due to Peter unwillingly receiving the spider bite at _Oscorp_ , the radiation was able to change his DNA, switching a part of his human makeup with that of the spider. He was still new at having superpowers, only having them for a little over ten months, so he was still in the process of discovering and learning all that he could about his abilities. Of course, the teenager didn’t know how much his new DNA had been alter or everything he could do now because of limited resources at his disposal. However, one of the things he found pretty quickly after the bite was the fact that he couldn’t thermoregulate like a regular human. The spiderling unfortunately lost that ability which made it easier for him to succumb to the cold or warm weather, therefore becoming a danger to his health and wellbeing.

So while the temperature was mildly pleasant for everyone else, it was vastly becoming uncomfortable for the teenager who was now part spider. He knew all the routes to the bus station and was smart enough to know that it would take him at least an hour to get there by foot. Furthermore, it had barely been a minute since Peter had step outside and began to shiver, so he knew that there was no possible way he could safely make it to his next destination without turning into a human popsicle. Apparently, the old coat he had on wasn’t quite enough for the late October weather New York was experiencing.

Because of that, Peter was forced to walk to the corner of the store and pull out a dark gray hoodie from his duffle bag with the aid of the light on the wall. Quickly, he zipped up the bag and changed into the hoodie, placing the coat over the new item of clothing so he would stay warmer.

Then, he walked.

Luckily, the convenience store was situated in the direction Peter needed to go, making it easier for him as he began to make his way to the bus station. Naturally, he didn’t know the exact length it would take him to reach each step in the directions but knew with confidence that the internet would have that type of information readily available for anyone who had wished to know. So the following directions were being made known to help anyone who was unfamiliar with the area so they wouldn’t become lost.

Peter first headed southeast on Ingram street, making the four hundred-and-ninety-two feet walk to Puritan Ave. Then, he turned right onto the road and walk two hundred-and-thirty-three feet, going straight onto 75th road. Two hundred-and-sixty-two feet took him to Kessel street, where the teen turned left and travel point one mile to Union Turnpike.

As Peter turned left on Union, slowly make the point three mile distance to Park Lane, he pondered on when he should rest. He had a long day of school yesterday before spending several hours on patrol after he completed his homework. When the teenager had received the life-changing call to get to the hospital, he had almost two hours left of patrol since his curfew on weekdays was eleven at night. After he’d rushed over to Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, a route that normally takes thirty-five minutes by walk which he successfully managed to cut in half, he was given the devastating news by his aunt’s doctor.

The spiderling was informed in the bereaved room by the calm doctor that it had been a drunk driver that had caused the car accident. Aunt May had been on her way home from another work shift when the drunk driver apparently ran a red light and slammed into the driver’s side of the car. Fortunately, she had managed to hang on until medical help arrived, even staying awake once she was admitted to the hospital. However, it was too late, the damage too extensive to correct in order to save her life. May Parker died in a hospital bed on October 25, 2016 at 9:15 pm.

Overwhelmed with emotions, Peter surprised himself by croaking out his request to see his aunt, his communication ability taking a hard hit as he struggle with his feelings. With compassion in his eyes, the doctor swiftly granted his wish and led him to the room where his aunt’s body rested, allowing him to stay for several hours while giving him the chance to say his final goodbyes. The teen then had successfully escaped via window after shouting at the social worker who came to speak with him before verbally throwing her out of the room. That had occurred around one in the morning and ever since then, he had been on the move.

Peter didn’t know when his first bus (which likely will be many) will depart, but he knew the buses began operating at 6 A.M. If he kept his time, he should arrive around 3:13 A.M. Assuming, of course, that his bus was the first to depart, thus giving him the needed hour to check in, the teen should have almost two hours to wait. Two hours to do whatever he wanted that was a short distance away from the station. The teenager wasn’t exactly sure he could sleep during that time, but he could take the opportunity to stock up on snacks for the trip while also grabbing a bite to eat. After all, he didn’t know when his next meal will be, and he wasn’t about to pay high dollar for food he could find at a cheaper price in a convenience store or vending machine. Plus, the spiderling had a high metabolism and not feeding it often will definitely draw attention to himself.

As Peter stuffed his freezing hands in his coat pocket to keep warm, he turn right on Park Lane and walked eighty-nine feet toward Union Turnpike. Once there, he turn left on the road, taking him point three miles to Queens Boulevard. Then taking a slight right onto Queen Boulevard, the teen walked a hundred-and sixty-four feet. After that, he turn left onto Grand Central Parkway, which crossover with 80th Avenue and Union Turnpike and walked point two miles to the next street.

The next road up was 132nd street, where Peter took a slight right to reach the safety of the sidewalk like he did earlier on Queens Boulevard. Three hundred-and-two feet later, found him continuing onto Grand Central Parkway, which remain connected to both 80th Avenue and Union Turnpike. There the teenager walked another point two mile. Then he took the Grand Central Parkway ramp, walking another two hundred-and-thirteen feet before he merged onto Grand Central Parkway.

Another eighty-five feet brought Peter to the next turnpike, which happen to be Union, turning left towards it and walking the required hundred-and-eighteen feet. Knowing that he was getting closer and probably had more or less than a mile to go, he hurried his pace. Ignoring traffic that flew past him, the teenager continue going straight onto Union Turnpike, which took point five miles to complete.

Next, Peter cross two roads to reach the left side of Union Turnpike, where he turned left again and walked a short distance of thirty-nine feet. Then turning right onto Union Turnpike, he walked a final point nine miles. Which eventually lead the teen minutes later to his destination on his right. The bus station on Union Turnpike and 174th street in Queens, New York.

A breath of pure relief escape unconsciously from Peter’s lips as he stared motionless across the street at the tall building. Of course, he knew he wasn’t out of the woods yet. The state or whoever was looking for him still had the chance to find and catch the teen, forcing him into the system. Even now, as his gaze soak in the fine details and craftmanship done to erect the stone structure, found himself vulnerable, and undoubtedly would remain so until he left New York. So for the time being, the spiderling would have to keep his eyes open and watch his back.

Letting out a tired sigh, Peter reposition the straps on his body and with a look of determination on his young face, carefully crossed the street to make his way to the building entrance. He may not know what the future held in store for him in this new life of his (a life now without May), but he hoped once he got through these dark days, life for him would be brighter and happier. That someone, somewhere out there in the world would stand in the boy’s corner, willing to support and love him like the teen still desperately needed and do anything in their power for him. But most importantly, he wanted to belong to someone, just so he wouldn’t feel so alone anymore.

Of course, what Peter didn’t know was that his life was about to change once more. For a good reason, this time. While he didn’t know it at the moment, there actually was someone who was willing to step into the role the teenager obviously craved. Someone with enough power and resources who was willing to move Heaven and Earth and possibly travel the entire universe in order to help him. As a result of making that great sacrifice, the person’s life as well would change for better, and the sins of his past would be cleansed and healed.

But for now, there were still things in the works that needed to be set in motion first before any of that could happen. Events, both big and small, that would challenge and define the character of one Peter Benjamin Parker. Actions that made almost everyone love both Peter and Spider-Man while given proof that both had pure hearts. As well as give enough reasons to show that the boy’s entrance into the world was a cherish gift in it self.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did I do? Please give me your thoughts and feedback in a review, but do be kind. Anything inappropriate or cruel will be block and reported to the administrators on site. Also, if you are going to send me negative comments on the direction part then please keep them to yourselves. I know that it's quite boring and should be taken out of the chapter, but I'm leaving it where it is. Please respect my decision as a creator and author of this story. 
> 
> As I mention in the beginning note, the next few chapters will have similar directions in them. Please bear with me for the time being. I promise that you won't regret it.
> 
> Before I forget, thank you to all who sent me kudos or gave me such nice reviews on the first chapter. They made my day.


	3. Goodbye New York, Hello Delaware, Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: This chapter and the next might be boring for some. It's mostly a filter chapter of Peter traveling. And like I did in the last chapter with the minute details of Peter walking to the bus station, I did in a similar fashion with this one. If you don't like it, I apologize. However, it's going to be like this for the one more chapter, but I promise after that, you won't ever see that again in this story. Though, I should mention that I tried my best to not make it so boring and mind-numbing dry like some books I read in school.
> 
> Again, I'm not from and never been to Queens or New York, and I have never travel down the East Coast using various forms of pubic transportations, so if there are any mistakes then please blame Google map for the errors. Also, I apologize in advance if I accidently offend anyone with my New York comment. I mean no harm by it, I'm just making a point in the chapter. 
> 
> Not betaed, but I have read/edited it about three times. I apologize if there are any mistakes.
> 
> Rating for the story may go up in the future.
> 
> Updates will be posted on a monthly basis.

**Chapter Three**

**Goodbye New York, Hello Delaware, Part One**

**Bus Station Union Turnpike and 174 street in Queens, New York.**

**Wednesday, October 26, 2016 5:45 A.M**

Peter sat in the waiting room, expecting the call to load up any second now. The first bus was set to leave in fifteen minutes and from the schedule he’d printed off with his tickets earlier, he needed to be on it. He checked his bags for the millionth time, making sure he had everything with him. Clothes, money, snacks, tickets, travel schedule, Id, and atlas. It was all there.

Zipping up the bags, Peter sat motionless on the wooden bench, eyes staring at the clock placed on the other side of the room. With his eyes locked on the slowly ticking timepiece, it was easy for him to ignore the handful of people milling around as they also waited for departure. Suddenly, his leg began to bounce as a strange feeling washed over him. A feeling he was certain he had never felt before in his young life. It felt powerful but cold as it trickled down his back, making him physically shiver. Almost overwhelming to the point of being painful as breathing started to become slightly more difficult. Yet, if he had to take a guess, Peter would liken the emotion to nervousness; though, it felt stronger than that.

On the verge of panicking, Peter shifted his attention from the clock so he could focus on calming himself down. He honestly didn’t know what was happening or why he was struggling to breathe, but it was beginning to frighten him. Moreover, Peter didn’t know if the idea that just popped into his head would work, but he decided to give it a try. First, he slowed his breathing down, taking slow, deep breathes. Then with every inhale and exhale, Peter quietly counted to four. Lastly, he focused his attention round the room, picking out five things that would fit in each category of the five senses.

Thankfully, whatever the teenager had just experience begun to slowly dissipate after several long minutes of repeated exercises. When Peter was finally calmed, his mind started racing as he wondered what had just happened to him. Why couldn’t he breathe properly? It was like he was physically being strangled to death without actually being strangled. Also, what brought on this episode? Was it because he felt anxious at the prospect of what his future now held in store for him as he waited to board his bus? Was the reason the negative emotion’s out-of-blue appearance caused by him unknowingly linking the bus trip to his new life? A life without May? A life without nothing but the items in his bags? A life where uncertainties now happened every minute instead of every hour or day?

Moreover, Peter had never experience something like that before. Sure, it felt similar to an asthma attack, but he hasn’t experienced an attack in months, not after receiving the bite back in December. Besides, the Spider DNA healed pretty much any physical flaws that he had since birth, so he was certain whatever this thing was wasn’t caused by an illness. At least not before getting the bite. Could it be possible that he was belatedly experiencing a new side-effect related to his superpowers?

Since he hadn’t heard of anyone else gaining new abilities specifically caused by a spider bite, at least not after all this time of trying to be a hero, there was, unfortunately, nothing to based anything off of research or previous experiences. He was truly flying blind when it came to aspects of his powers and abilities. The process becoming painstakingly difficult as he slowly became aware of what he could now do despite not having the ability in the past. Without proper scientific equipment to study his powers, Peter was limited to what he had managed to figure out on his own and what Ned had managed to accomplished in a mediocre lab, a rare opportunity in part of having an older cousin who was a research scientist that still owned Ned a favor. So could it be possible that whatever he had experienced minutes ago was linked to his powers? Maybe. Unfortunately, due to the lack of lab equipment at his disposal at the moment, he had absolutely no way of testing the theory out. Whatever this thing was would have to wait until he had the chance to study it further. Hopefully, he would never experience another spell again, but if it did arise, not until he fully knew what was happening to him; either successfully discovering a way to prevent it from occurring or abating the symptoms.

Returning to the part about him feeling anxious, Peter pondered why he didn’t sense this episode coming before it happen? While he could sense when something bad was about to happen nearby, he also learned that he could sense when something wasn’t right with himself. Like if he was about to experience a debilitated migraine that would occur in a matter of minutes. Something like that. But there was no warning, nothing to prepare him for what was to come. He was fine one moment and then the next, he found himself experiencing a struggle to received oxygen to his starving lungs. It was alarming to say the least, especially if there was no way of being informed beforehand.

Coupled with the anxiety, Peter felt exhausted, restless, and dejected. Restless because he wanted to move, to get as far away from Queens and New York as he possibly can. Yet here he was, sitting on a bench, waiting for his bus which seemed to take hours to board. In fact, it _has_ been hours of waiting for him. Since arriving at the bus station around 3:15 this morning, Peter had been waiting for almost three hours, only leaving the waiting room for bathroom breaks and shopping for snacks at the convenience store next door. So it was quite understandable for him to feel restless. 

Furthermore, it was also natural for him to feel sorrow since he just lost the last member that was connected to his biological family. It hasn’t even been nine hours since Aunt May passed (hopefully) painlessly away. And while the shock has subsided mostly, it allowed Peter to slipped up and show his true emotions, which he didn’t really want to show until he was in a more private area. In fact, he didn’t know when that might happen, but he sincerely hoped that he would be able to find a cheap motel room in Rehoboth Beach later on tonight.

In addition, Peter had been awake for almost twenty-four hours. Of course, he could have allowed himself to sleep on the bench while he waited for his bus; however, he had trouble relaxing enough to fall asleep. He knew that he was safe, that his spider senses would alert him to any danger nearby, but something inside him resisted the urge to rest despite the overwhelming exhaustion he felt. Peter knew the trip would be terribly long, around thirteen hours his itinerary stated. Of course, that all depended on if the drivers stuck to their traveling schedules. Also, it showed on his schedule that he would have several opportunities to take a nap, yet he doubted he would be able to do so. The latest chance he would have to sleep would be if he found a room for the night.

Apparently, to get through the long arduous trip, he was going to need to drink a large amount of soda. Good thing Peter was well prepared and had the foresight to buy two 6-packs of Dr. Pepper in bottle form. He was certainly going to need it.

“ _Bus Q46 to Queens Boulevard and 78th Crescent Road is now boarding. All passengers for Bus Q46, please head to gate 7_ ,” the announcer called out over the station speakers.

Peter sighed tiredly as he stiffly rose to his feet, grabbing the straps of his bags without a look. Exiting the waiting room, he made his way to his designated gate that was, luckily, not too far away from where he’d stayed. About a minute later, Peter arrived at his gate and join the short line of people who would be fellow passengers with him on the twelve minute bus ride.

With both bags hanging from his shoulders and all necessary items needed to board the bus in his hand, Peter soon found himself slouching in seat number fourteen on the bus without any trouble. After taking a moment to rest, he wearily stood up and shoved his bags in the provided luggage rack above the seats. He didn’t need anything from them right now since his stomach was quite content with the snacks he had consumed not too long ago. Once that was accomplished, Peter fell heavily into his seat and only allowed his head to turn toward the window, deciding to people watched as he waited for the bus to depart.

* * *

Around 6:12 A.M., Peter arrived at his next stop and carefully disembarked off the bus. Since he was now at Queens Boulevard and 78th Crescent Road, his itinerary informed him that he would need to walk three hundred-and-thirty-five feet, which was equivalent to a two minute walk, to Kew Gardens Station on Union Turnpike. There, he would take the E. subway to the World Trade Center.

Folding the schedule to a small rectangle, Peter slid it in his jeans front pocket, an area easily reach in case he needed the paper in a hurry. Then shifting the bags on his back to a more comfortable position, Peter walked the short distance to the subway entrance on the Northwest corner of Union Turnpike and Queens Boulevard. A couple of minutes later, Peter took the stairs leading him down to Kew Gardens subway station.

Despite how busy the subway was at this early hour, Peter was able to make it to the platform in plenty of time. A nearby clock informed him that he had about five minutes before the 6:19 E. train would arrive, so he decided to lean against the stone wall and have a snack. Opening his backpack, he quickly decided after looking through his options that he wanted the peanut-butter crackers. After he had the food in his hand, he carefully zipped his bag shut since he didn’t want the zipper to catch on the material and rip it. When his bookbag was safely close, Peter set both bags next to his feet and then proceeded to open the plastic packaging to get to the crackers.

Waking up the morning after the Oscorp fieldtrip, one of the many new things Peter quickly became aware of was his excellent hearing. The day before, he couldn’t hear anything outside of his room yet now he could hear _everything,_ even the conversations happening at Delmar’s Deli down the block! To go from limited human hearing to suddenly having the ability to hear from a long distance away was incredibly overwhelming to him. Even more so since it took a long time to find a successful way to tone down the level of input his sensitive ears were now picking up.

Of course, now Peter was a pro on deciding how much he wanted to hear. Weeks and weeks of research in order to find a way to control his enhanced hearing along with many failed tests finally allowed him to discover a working method to lower or even tune out the outside world. So with that fact in mind, his ability to hear twice or even triple the amount a normal human could hear, easily picked up the sound of the subway coming from miles away. Of course, it was still too far away for the other patrons to hear; however, since he wasn’t limiting his ability to hear at the moment, it sounded like the train was maybe a mile or two way from the station.

Several minutes later, Peter recognized the familiar sound of the subway as it slowly entered the station. The roar of the train was practically deafening to his ears as the sound bounced off the underground walls and around the spacious area like an out-of-control bouncing ball. Obviously, the noise wasn’t pleasant to Peter’s sensitive ears, in fact it was on the edge of being painful, so to save himself from an oncoming headache, he quickly lower most of the sound feedback he was receiving.

As the subway gradually came to a stop, Peter grabbed his stuff and took a step forward. Unfortunately, it was right before he was about to take his next step when he was bumped rudely to the side by another fellow passenger. Alas, this was New York and rude people were the norm around these areas. Of course, that didn’t mean folks should allow such behavior to continue whether they were in a hurry or not. Which is why Peter sent a dark glare at the tall man, who looked like he could have played football back in college.

Yes, Peter knew that displaying his annoyance was pointless and wouldn’t have any effect on the rushing man. Plus, normally he could ignore the collisions since Peter knew that most people didn’t mean to be rude. However, on days where no apologies were given in return and he wasn’t feeling well, like today for instance, Peter simply couldn’t ignore the rudeness. Hence the reason he decided to glare at the man.

Peter allowed the rudeness to slide by, with only a dark glare as punishment, since he wasn’t feeling up to confronting the man. Besides, arguing with the man wasn’t worth it. Most likely it would lead to making a scene and possibly getting another party, namely the police, involve in their petty fight. Nothing good would come out of the mess so why bother creating one.

Sighing, Peter resume walking as he made his way to a nearby car that was still receiving passengers. Entering the car, he walked down the aisle as he searched for an available seat. Luckily, he found one not too far away from him and quickly took it, setting his bags on the floor near his feet so no one would accidentally trip over them as they got on and off the train. Then he lean back in his seat and patiently waited for the subway to start moving.

A few minutes later, the doors slid shut and the train took off, speeding down the track after exiting the station. Peter rested his head against the window behind him and closed his eyes, enjoying the gentle rocking of the car as it slowly lulled him to sleep. He knew he should sleep, that there wasn’t anything else he could do until he reached his next stop. Not to mention, it would be pretty easy to nod off with the way things were going now. Moreover, he had at least thirty-three minutes to kill before they arrived at Port Authority station on 42nd street so Peter should try to rest his eyes for a bit. He wasn’t confident, however, that he would fall asleep. At least, not completely anyway. No, it was more likely that Peter would just fall in a lethargic state or even just be half-asleep during the ride.

Still, Peter would try his best to rest.

* * *

Unfortunately, Peter wasn’t able to fall asleep during the durance of the ride. The closest he got was a half-asleep state that he only managed to fall into with ten minutes remaining until they arrived at Port Authority. So if things continued the way they were likely going, the only time Peter would be able to sleep peacefully would be in a hotel bed later on tonight. That is, if he found one that would be willing to take him in for the night.

The E. train rolled into Port Authority station on 42nd street at exactly 6:52 A.M., right on schedule despite the many stops they took to allow passengers on and off the subway on the way here. Quickly, Peter grabbed his things and managed to get off the train without any problems. As he walked down the platform, making sure not to accidentally hit someone, he decided to stop somewhere out of the way of the large crowd of people and check his itinerary for where he needed to go next.

Searching for a moment, Peter found a spot on the wall in the station that was, thankfully, far enough away from all the people on the platforms and made his way over to the location. Gently dropping his bags to the ground for a minute, he reached into his front pocket and retrieved his travel schedule once more. From what his itinerary was telling him, Peter needed to walk two hundred-and-fifty-nine feet, which would only take a minute, to Port Authority bus terminal on 41st street. There, he would hop on a bus that would take him to Philadelphia. However, he should probably get moving since the greyhound bus he was schedule to take was leaving at 7:05 and it was already 6:53 A.M. If he wanted to find a good seat and get settled before the bus took off, he better hurry it up.

So now knowing where he needed to go, Peter shoved the paper back into his pocket and grabbed his stuff before following the signs that would lead him out of the subway station. A short time later found Peter climbing the stairs up to the surface of downtown New York and into the fresh air. As he stood by the subway exit, Peter looked down the block, knowing that the bus terminal wasn’t too far away from the subway station. Admittedly, it didn’t take him very long to spot the clearly marked building.

Seeing the bus station down the road, Peter haggardly traveled southwest on 8th Ave, crossing the street as he made his way toward West 41st street. About a minute later, he used the crosswalk to safely cross the street, this time heading west. After reaching the other side, he backtracked his steps by walking north on the sidewalk since the station was on his right and he couldn’t get to it earlier. Several seconds later, Peter stood outside the front entrance of the Port Authority bus terminal.

Heading into the station, Peter easily located a clock and discovered that he had about ten minutes before his bus took off. Since he still had some time, he decided to get checked in and make sure there was no problem with boarding or the bus schedule. The check-in process went quite smoothly without any problems and the female clerk patiently answered all of his questions that he had before kindly directed him on where his bus was located. He thanked her before stepping out of line, allowing the person behind him to speak with the lady next while he headed for his bus.

* * *

At 7:05 A.M., the door of the greyhound bus closed behind the last passenger. Checking his rear-view mirror to make certain that everyone was safely in their seats, he turned the key in the ignition and fired up the engine. The bus driver then looked out the driver-side window and the windshield before shifting the gear in drive and carefully pulling out of the bus terminal parking lot. As the bus enter heavy traffic, Peter closed his eyes and slid down in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest as he mentally said goodbye to New York.

His itinerary showed that it would take a little over an hour to get from New York to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Of course, that probably didn’t include any stops or layovers they may experience during the journey. Since this was his first time taking a greyhound bus, Peter wasn’t entirely sure if they would make any stops or if they will just continue on until they reached their destination. Either way, his journey was going to be extremely long no matter what happens.

The traveling schedule Peter had printed off several hours earlier showed that not only did he have to spend seventy minutes on the bus, but that the further he got in his journey, the longer the time became between stops. Of course, now that he was towards the middle, he was expected to spend at least an hour traveling on public transportation, and hopefully not lose his mind in the process. Luckily, it appears that towards the end of the itinerary, the time grew shorter with about fifteen minutes spent traveling. Furthermore, despite picking the fastest time it would take to get him to Rehoboth Beach, the journey was still a little over thirteen hours long, making it where he wouldn’t reach his final destination until a little after seven in the evening.

Even though it was a greyhound, the bus ride was miserable. Peter knew beforehand that the bus would be loud since it contains a large engine, and the other passengers were most likely to speak in a normal volume. However, what he didn’t know was that it would reek of sweat and body odor and foul smells that escaped the bathroom when the door opened in the back. Not to mention, the temperature inside was cold, the air conditioning cranked up to an almost intolerable level. Which happened to be dangerous to Peter since he was very sensitive to cold temperatures now. Plus, there was no way to individually adjust the temperature since the control was up front by the bus driver.

Of course, the worst part of the trip was the boredom. Peter was used to having some type of electronic device on him to pass the time; however, since he was forced to leave them at home, the long hours of traveling were quickly become extremely difficult. At one point, Peter decided to look through the atlas book he’d purchased back in Queens just to pass the time. Unfortunately, there was just so much a teenager could look at before the pictures before him start to lose his interest. 

Admittedly, Peter wasn’t feeling like his usual, happy self before this whole journey started, yet the long hours of traveling wasn’t do him any favors either. The emotional stress of what he had been through, the boredom, and the constant traveling wore on his nerves. All of his senses felt raw and on edge, and tired. Actually, he was beyond tired; he was mind-numbing exhausted to the point that he was ready to collapse at any moment. But he kept going and Peter promise himself he wouldn’t stop until he reached Rehoboth Beach and found a motel where he could finally collapse in.

Some time later, the bus finally managed to reach the city of Philadelphia. About fifteen minutes later, at 8:15, Peter stepped off the bus, stumbling the first few steps after sitting still for so long. He followed the other passengers inside the station and basically collapse on the nearest empty bench he located. After resting for a few minutes, he found enough strength to lean over and pulled his bags up next to him on the seat. Then he leaned back and closed his eyes for a minute.

The next bus Peter was supposed to take was heading to Baltimore, Maryland in twenty minutes. The trip was schedule to take almost two hours. Therefore, with the next long bus ride almost upon him, Peter knew he should use his free time productively. But there was one problem. He didn’t want to move from his seat.

The bench wasn’t exactly comfortable; however, Peter was too tired to get up or care. He knew that he should go eat and use the bathroom with the short time he had, but the idea of standing and doing those tasks seemed daunting to him. All he really wanted to do was just lay here until it was time to board the next bus, but even thinking about leaving his seat to get onto the next greyhound seem near impossible. As much as he didn’t want to, Peter knew he needed to get up, though. If he wanted to stay healthy and continue on with his journey, he had to be responsible and make sure he took care of himself. And, of course, that wouldn’t happen if he collapse in the middle of the station or while riding on the bus.

He remained on the bench for another minute, resting while also gathering more strength and energy from who knows where. Then with a long sigh, Peter slowly rose to his feet before staggering in the direction of the bathrooms with his bags. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a long line waiting for a stall to open up, so it only took him a matter of minutes to get in, do his business, washed his hands, and get out of there.

With that chore taken care of, Peter located another bench nearby and set his bags down. Opening his duffle, he pulled out his ticket to Baltimore and doublecheck his gate number then looked around in searched for that number. Locating his gate wasn’t too difficult to find and soon he became satisfied that the information was correct and that everything was set as exactly as it was supposed to be. Then with a hum of approval, Peter zipped up his bag (after taking out his ticket) and set it aside.

Next, he lowered himself onto the bench and opened his bookbag, pulling out some snacks and a bottle of pop. After closing his bag, Peter pushed it aside before proceeding to devour his food and down his drink. He knew that it was about time for him to eat, but after taking his first few bites, he came to realized how hungry he was, his stomach agreeing with that thought by letting out a low grumble that only he could hear. Promising himself to keep better track of time, he eagerly continued on with his meal.

* * *

At 8:25 A.M., Peter boarded the bus for Baltimore, taking a seat in the middle. Once he was settled in his seat and his bags placed safely above him, he turned his attention to the window. As he waited for his bus to leave, the teenager decided to look out his window and watch the people as they came and went in the loading area. He watched as people boarded up a bus nearby and silently wondered where it might be heading to. He also saw two buses slowly pulling into the station, its doors quickly sliding open once it had stop before allowing the passengers to get off. His brown eyes following them as they walked pass the bus, making their way into the other part of the station with their luggage.

As 8:35 rolled around, the doors slid shut and the bus slowly took off, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the street. He watched as the station grew smaller and smaller before the building disappeared from his sight, the distance between growing bigger the further they drove. Peter looked out the window for a moment longer before switching his attention inside the bus, sinking down in his seat to get comfortable. Or as comfortable as one could possibly get while riding on a two hours bus trip.

* * *

It was 10:30 A.M., when Peter’s bus pulled up to the station in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. He waited patiently as several of the passengers got their bags and walked off the bus before grabbing his stuff from the rack above. After letting some more passengers go first, he walked to the front of the bus with his bags hanging from his shoulders and carefully climbed down the stairs to the cement below.

Entering the station, Peter decided to sit on the cool tiled floor with his back pressed against the large glass window in the waiting area near one of the entrances. There were plenty of benches in the room, he noticed, but they were all filled with people who were waiting for their buses to be called like him. It didn’t really matter since he preferred sitting on the floor for a little while instead of spending that time trying to find a place to sit in the crowded space. Apparently, midmorning was a busy time at the bus station here in Baltimore. It looked almost like rush hour in New York, but less crazy and aggressive. Of course, he wasn’t sure if some of these people were locals who were traveling to neighboring towns or if they were all out-of-towners like him.

Either way, the station was packed with customers and there was no way he was going to spend precious time looking for an available seat just so he wouldn’t have to stand or sit on the floor. Besides, the floor wasn’t that bad. Yes, it was hard and yes, sitting long-term wouldn’t be comfortable, but for the short time he was here, it would work. As long as he had a place to sit down, he wasn’t picky. He rather give up a spot on the bench to whoever needed it the most than take the seat himself. It was just the right thing to do.

Besides, the sun shining through the window felt really good. Despite the slight coolness of the glass, Peter could feel the sun’s rays through the window, warming his back. The heat was so warm that any coolness he felt from the floor or glass wasn’t a bother to him. As long as the sun continued to shine on him, he was content to stay put on the floor.

Lifting his hips up for a moment, Peter pulled out the crumpled piece of paper that detailed his trip from his front pocket. Opening it, he glanced through the information, already knowing that his next bus wasn’t leaving until 11:05, a thirty-five minute waiting time. However, what he didn’t know was that his next stop would be in Salisbury, Maryland, where he should arrive at 1:40 in the afternoon.

Finally! Finally, he was almost there. He was only one state away from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He was only (running the numbers quickly through his head) nine hours away from his destination. Still a long way to go, but at least it was closer than he was when he first started out on this trip.

Since he ate back in Philadelphia, over two hours ago, Peter didn’t feel hungry. Of course, snacks that were mainly junk food didn’t exactly fill him up, which was unfortunate, because he had a big appetite, but his stomach wasn’t growling at him just yet. That was a good thing since Peter wasn’t planning on eating again until he was in Salisbury. Hopefully he could manage until then.

As there was still thirty-four minutes left to kill, Peter grabbed another bottle of soda from his bag and found a discarded newspaper on a nearby seat to read. Opening the newspaper, he began to read as he took slow slips from his sugary drink, savoring the sweet taste as it bubbled on his tongue.

* * *

When the clock turned to 11:05 A.M., Peter was settling in his seat on his bus as it prepared to leave the station. One of the many places the bus was scheduled to take him was Salisbury, Maryland, his next stop. The trip was expected to take almost three hours and that was if there was no delays. So far, there hasn’t been but that could change. The Parkers were known to have bad luck surrounding them.

As Peter felt the bus began to move, he picked up the abandon newspaper lying on the seat next to him. The same one he found earlier in the bus station that no one bother to take with them. He didn’t want to read the paper. Actually, he rather do anything else than read a paper from a city he didn’t belong to, but he was bored. He didn’t have his phone to play games on or a computer where he could get online and look up nerdy teenage stuff. He couldn’t even bring his I-Pod with him because he was afraid that it could be used to track him down. The only options he had was looking through his Atlas or watch the scenery as it flew pass his window, both things that quickly turned boring. So all that was left to starved off his boredom was reading the Baltimore newspaper and hopefully understanding the stories.

So as the bus got onto the freeway, Peter opened his newspaper and began to read about the new property bill that the local officials were wanted to pass into law.

* * *

The greyhound bus Peter was on arrived at the station in Salisbury, Maryland at 1:40 P.M. Unlike the other times, however, the teenager wasn’t staying until his next bus left. In fact, the bus that would take him to his next stop didn’t even belong at the station he was taken to. No, the bus that was schedule to take him to Delmar, Delaware could be found at _Shore Transit Bus Terminal_ , another bus company that would help him get closer to Rehoboth Beach than the one he was just on.

Thankfully, Peter had plenty of time to get over to the other station since it was only a minute walk, and his bus out of Maryland was schedule to leave at 3:00 P.M. So checking that he had all of his stuff with him, he stepped off the greyhound and walked through the building to go out the front doors. When he was outside, Peter walked a short distance in order to not be in the way of direct traffic coming in and out of the station and pulled out his travel itinerary. Because he was new to the area, he had no knowledge of where he needed to go. But his schedule had the information that he required so he wouldn’t get lost in the process of trying to locate the other station.

So with a quick look at the paper in front of him, Peter started off. He managed to get out of the parking lot in a matter of minutes, where he then headed east, walking one hundred-and-forty-one feet to his destination. The walk was short and, of course, the weather was mildly pleasant, but he was too tired to really care about anything other than getting to _Shore Transit._ Admittedly _,_ he knew he would come to regret not taking in the sights surrounding him later on, because when would he ever come back? But he was so exhausted that there wasn’t an adequate word to describe how he truly felt.

Peter was really beginning to regret not sleeping when he had the chance. Sure, he tried before and ultimately failed, but he should had made a harder effort. Maybe then, he wouldn’t be here struggling to keep his eyes open?

He could try to get some shuteye at the station. Of course, that would have to wait until after he had eaten because he hadn’t had a bite to eat since he arrived in Philadelphia, which was several hours ago. Also, if he remember correctly, Peter had another opportunity to catch some z’s on the bus to Delmar because it was sixty-five minute trip. However, after that, he was out of luck since the times in-between stops grew shorter and shorter almost every time. He still had several hours to go before reaching Rehoboth Beach, and that wasn’t including the time it would take him to find a motel that would take him. So if he didn’t want to be taken to a hospital due to sleep deprivation, he better find a way to get some sleep, even if it was only a half-an-hour nap.

As soon as Peter reached _Shore Transit Bus Terminal,_ he slowly entered the building and dragged his tired feet to a bench. When he was in safe distance, the teenager flop down onto the seat, gradually dragging his bags up to sit next to him. Similarly, he pulled out some bags of snack and another drink and weary began to eat, quashing the hunger pains he felt in his stomach from not eating enough.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Peter was sitting on his bus, a little less exhausted than he was before. Somehow, he had managed to get almost an hour of sleep on the bench while he waited. Of course, forty minutes wasn’t nearly enough to kick the tiredness out of his bones, but it was a start. After all, every little bit should count, and hopefully be able to tide him over until he reach his final destination.

As 3:00 P.M. came around, the driver closed the bus doors before beginning the sixty-five minute journey out of state. They were scheduled to arrive in Delmar, Delaware at 4:05 P.M., so Peter had plenty of time to get another quick nap in before they arrive. Knowing that he should do it, the teenager shifted in his seat in hopes of finding a little bit of comfort before closing his eyes. Immediately, he began to feel the fatigue dragging him down, pulling him closer and closer to sweet oblivion with every second that passed. Soon, he was deeply asleep.

* * *

Peter woke up just as the bus was pulling into the station in Delmar, Delaware. Yawning, he carefully stretched his arms out before sitting up in his seat. He rubbed his eyes slowly, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes before letting out another yawn. When the greyhound finally came to a stop, he slowly stood up and after making sure the aisle was clear, walked down it with his bags.

As Peter passed the driver, he noticed the clock on the wall announced the time as 4:05 P.M. He was happy to know that they had arrived on schedule because his next bus was arranged to leave for Georgetown at 4:33 P.M., twenty-eight minutes from now. Thankfully, the trips were now becoming shorter with him being in the same state as Rehoboth Beach and because of that, he no longer had two hours bus rides in his future. The closes he would have to go is the town nearby or the one passed it.

Unlike previous stops, Peter didn’t search for a bench to rest because of the short amount of time he had before his next bus left. So instead he check the information on his traveling papers before making his way over to the correct gate of where his bus was going to be. Once he was there, he checked to see if he was in the way of any bystanders before sliding to the ground to wait till his bus was called to board.

Twenty-five minutes later, Peter was getting his ticket checked by a clerk before being directed to the bus nearby. With his bags on his shoulders and his traveling information in his hand, he walked in the direction that he was shown and soon found himself in front of his bus. The little sign in the windshield and first passenger window confirmed that he was in the right place. He adjusted the straps on his shoulders, so it wasn’t biting into his skin then walked to the doors and enter the vehicle.

His bus left three minutes later, bound for Georgetown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did I do? Please give me your thoughts and feedback in a review, but do be kind. Anything inappropriate or cruel will be block and reported to the administrators on site.

**Author's Note:**

> How did I do? Please give me your thoughts and feedback in a review, but do be kind. Anything inappropriate or cruel will be block and reported to the administrators on site.


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